Franklin sculpture park to celebrate opening next month

Friday

Jul 25, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Matt TotaDaily News Staff

FRANKLIN — A marble bench engraved with the word "IMAGINE" invites visitors to plop down and do just that. Nearby, a life-size bear stands upright on its hind legs, nearly as tall as a tree. And a face, split into two half-moons, stares placidly ahead.The sights are all contained within a new sculpture park off Edwards Street, which will open officially early next month with seven pieces on display.Some of the sculptures were inspired by nature, such as Connecticut artist Buddy Quinn’s steel-plated ursine and the large smiling sunflower by Franklin Police Lt. Mark Manocchio, built to blend into the wooded surroundings.Other works are harder to place into a theme, including Andy Zimmerman’s "Wherethere in Five," created by mounting digital photographs to shards of welded aluminum. It looks like five sharp pincers poking through the grass.Students at the Franklin Art Center, whose owners, Ian and Linda Kabat persuaded town officials to support the development of a park in April 2013, have been painting ping-pong balls and affixing them to sticks to form a field of color.And the final sculpture, a wire butterfly, is to be installed soon.The transformation of the old town swimming spot into an outdoor art gallery began last summer."It’s been very exciting for us," Linda Kabat said. "We walked through there when it was overgrown. We really have watched the whole park take shape. It won’t be finished. It will always be changing and growing."To help fund the cost to rent the sculptures and later purchase permanent installations, the art center has been selling bricks for residents to personalize. More than 100 have been commissioned and laid to form a walkway.Kabat said a specific date hasn’t been set for the park’s opening ceremony, but one would be released soon. She has invited all of the artists to take questions and discuss their work.Eventually, the art center hopes to have at least 15 pieces displayed on a rotating basis."As more sculptors find out about the park, we’ll get a lot of interest from them to display their work," she said.Matt Tota can be reached at 508-634-7521 or mtota@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @matttotamdn.